


Back to Manhattan

by ghostofachancewithyou



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: 19x02, Angst, Comforting, Episode tag: s19e02 Mood, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Kissing, M/M, Other, Reader's gender not specified, gender neutral reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 19:37:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12711579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostofachancewithyou/pseuds/ghostofachancewithyou
Summary: Sonny meets with an old friend from Staten Island. Since none of the squad gives a damn that Sonny's seen a suspect fall to his death, someone else will have to comfort him.Based on a request by barbaesparza:Sonny x Reader where the reader comforts him after 19x02 maybe? Or more generally he's just tired/run down. Can include smut if you want, idk, feel free to write anything haha but. Sonny.





	Back to Manhattan

An impressive sight. The Manhattan skyline against the cloudy sky. The sun still shining. The wind sending leaves rustling on the ground. October, late afternoon. 

Staten Island.

You and Sonny were sitting on a bench in a park at the northern waterfront, enjoying your ice cream.

 _Sonny Sundays_ , that’s what you called them. It had become a ritual. Whenever he had a Sunday off, he’d go to his parents’ house for lunch and meet up with you later at the little ice cream shop you owned.

The two of you had been best friends for … had it really been _that_ long?

Soon after your family had moved into the house next to the Carisi home, Sonny and you had quickly bonded. Whenever he felt the need to escape from it all for a while—“it all” meaning his nagging sisters, his overbearing mother, and his short-fused father—he’d casually stroll by, asking you something school related or something he had just made up. You could read him like an open book, but you didn’t mind. You weren’t alone anymore. You liked him.

You always liked him. A few years ago you had even admitted it, at a party. Too much beer. Sitting next to him on a sofa, your hand on his thigh. Now it was going to happen, finally.

“You’re a good friend,” he had mumbled, trying to pat your head, missing it by a few inches. “You’re my friend, right!?”

You’d pulled back immediately. _Gotcha._ The morning after had been sobering in more than one way when he told you that he was, in fact, going to start his law enforcement career as a patrol officer in the Bronx. Coming Monday.

But of course you stayed in contact. He was transferred all over the five boroughs. You were there for him. Your plan to expand your business failed. He was there for you.

And here you were again. Another October.

“You know, sometimes I miss this.”

You gave Sonny a skeptical look. “We’re sitting on a moldy, rotten bench in effing Alice Austen Park …”

“No, not the park,” he chuckled. “I mean in general. I never thought I’d say it, but … it’s kinda nice here. Staten Island. Home—don’t look at me like that! It’s just like … be careful what you wish for?”

Now that was new.

“What do you mean? Are you having second thoughts? You never stop talking about your job. You said working at Manhattan SVU was the best thing that ever happened to you. And that you couldn’t see yourself becoming a lawyer anytime soon.”

He turned his head to look at you. His expression was serious.

“No. Just. Staten Island was … easier.”

You held his gaze.

“Now you’re scaring me, Carisi. You don’t do ‘easy’. Never have.”

He got up and slowly began to pace in a small circle on the gravel path.

Now you were _really_ getting concerned. You got up too.

“Did anything happen? At work? Because … you haven’t told me anything about your week yet, you just let me rant for an hour about my shitty vendors.”

He stopped. His eyes gazed across the bay, all the way over to Manhattan. Silence. And then.

“I was chasing a perp. Almost had him. He was armed but dropped his gun on accident when I told him to freeze.”

Sonny shook his head. You reached over and gently laid your hand on his upper arm.

“I should’ve just shot him in the arm, or the leg, somewhere. He ran. But it was a dead end. He climbed a fence. But it was raining and he slipped.”

His voice was rough, and somehow he sounded … old. Weary.

“You don’t have to tell me, Sonny, it’s okay,” you whispered. The last thing you wanted was him reliving this kind of traumatic situation.

“No, I mean, if you’re okay with it …”

“I can handle it.”

He turned and looked at you.

“He slipped and fell and I couldn’t hold on to him …”

Sonny tried to hold back the sob, but he failed. It broke your heart to see him like this.

You opened your arms and he fell into you.

 

You held each other in a tight embrace for a while. His sobs subsided pretty quickly, but it took him several minutes until he exhaled sharply and stood up straight again. His face was flushed. He still looked sad.

The sky was turning shades of pink and magenta. With your eyes wide open you tried to focus on a random spot on the horizon, hoping that the cool October air would quickly dry your own tears.

Sonny checked his watch and sighed. “Sorry, think I’d better be going.”

“Sure.”

He’d take the ferry, you’d take the bus. _See you next Sunday, right!?_

No.

“Sonny,” your voice was shaking and more high-pitched than usual. “I’m worried about you. I’m worried this job will destroy the Sonny I know and …”

At your words, Sonny furrowed his brows and moved a step closer to you.

You looked down at your boots, feeling embarrassed about the fact that you couldn’t keep your emotions in check anymore.

_Why don’t you come back. Please come back. To me._

You wanted to tell him so badly. You just needed him to be okay. Happy. Your Sonny, your best friend. Your love.

“I don’t belong here. This is not my–path.”

He hesitated at the last word, probably realizing how corny it sounded. But it was the truth, and you both knew it.

You looked up into his sweet, concerned face. His beautiful eyes.

You had never been so sure of anything.

“I’m coming with you.”

Suddenly he didn’t look tired anymore, he just stared at you in utter confusion.

“What?”

You reached into your pockets and pulled out some leftover napkins.

“You heard me. First of all I haven’t told you that Crazy Yellow Sweater Guy came back to complain to me about my staff yesterday …”

“Again?” Sonny replied. He was sniffing a little, eagerly accepting the napkin to wipe away a few remnant tears. 

“It’s a long and wild story that’ll keep you entertained all night.”

Sonny’s eyes were still a little red, but his smile was sincere.

“Fine. But I’ll do the cooking.”

“Lasagna?”

“Definitely not! ”

“Hmmm … how about chicken parm?”

“Fine. But only if we stop for Zepolle first.”

“Zepolle **and** cannoli, you mean.”

You were standing on the deck of the Staten Island Ferry. It was cold and windy, so Sonny decided to pull you close to him, it was the polite thing to do after all, right? None of you wore gloves, so of course the two of you held hands throughout the whole trip. And when you made a comment about how you couldn’t really feel your freezing lips anymore, Sonny went out of his way to prove to you that they were, in fact, still there. And lovely, and inviting, and irresistible.

When you arrived at the Lower Manhattan Ferry Terminal, you didn’t even notice the passengers pushing and shoving as they made their way toward the exit. You had turned around to look back at Staten Island, miles away in the distance.

“Thank you,” Sonny whispered against your hair.

You pulled him even closer.

**Author's Note:**

> Always looking forward to hearing from you. And please consider leaving kudos if you liked it. Thanks. <3
> 
> [I'm on tumblr.](http://ghostofachancewithyou.tumblr.com) Requests are always open.


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